Original KISS members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss have rare reunion at Ace Frehley’s memorial service

Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss — all founding members of rock band KISS — reunited to lay their former bandmate, Ace Frehley, to rest.

The trio came together for a final farewell to the legendary guitarist in the Bronx borough of New York City, the band’s longtime friend Eddie Trunk shared via Instagram Wednesday.

“It has been an emotional couple of days to say the least (sic) saying farewell to a rock icon and long time friend,” the SiriusXM personality wrote alongside a memorial prayer card that read, “In Loving Memory of Paul ‘Ace’ D. Frehley.”

“All of the services went as well as they could and were attended by a small group of family and close friends, including the 3 surviving original members of @kissonline,” Trunk added.

The last time Criss, 79, Simmons, 76, Stanley, 73, and Frehley all publicly appeared alongside each other was at the 29th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2014.

The quartet formed KISS in 1973, and have reunited several times throughout the past few decades — despite Criss departing the band in 1980 due to creative differences and Frehley leaving in 1982. (Frehley rejoined KISS for a reunion tour from 1996-2002.)

Frehley, who kick-started Frehley’s Comet band a few years later, got candid about his rocky relationship with Stanley and Simmons during an interview with Guitarist earlier this year.

“A lot of the misconceptions were created by Paul and Gene,” he explained. “They still say in interviews that they fired me, but I was never fired from KISS. I hate when I hear that. And they say that both times I was fired. I quit both times.”

At the time, the “10,000 Volts” rocker confirmed that he initially parted ways with the band because he wasn’t a fan of the transition from the 1970s to 1980s rock.

Frehley and Criss were able to put aside their differences to participate in KISS’ Alive/Worldwide reunion tour in the late 1990s before once again going their separate ways.

Over the years, Frehley has teamed up with Simmons for several projects, including a 2017 benefit concert for the St. Paul, Minn., and in 2018 at the latter’s “Vault experience” performance in Los Angeles.

Frehley and Criss, however, opted out of joining Simmons and Stanley onstage for the group’s final End of the Road World Tour shows at Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple in December 2024.

Frehley, born Paul Daniel Frehley, died on Oct.16 at the age of 74 after he was reportedly put on life support.

“Devastated” Stanley and Simmons mourned the fellow rocker via a statement to Page Six, writing, “He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history.”

“He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy,” they continued.

A few weeks before his death, the musician suffered from a brain bleed after falling in his studio.

“He is fine, but against his wishes, his doctor insists that he refrain from travel at this time,” a Sept. 25 message shared on his Instagram read. “Ace looks forward to continuing on his tour and finishing work on his next album, ‘Origins Vol. 4.’”

However, on Oct. 6, another statement announced that Frehley would be cancelling the rest of his “10,000 Volts Tour” due to “ongoing medical issues.”